By Rena Abdusalam
SAN LEANDRO, CA – A San Leandro man, who was beaten with batons and Tased while walking on the sidewalk in 2019, will receive $3.9 million from the city to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit, his attorney announced recently.
No criminal charges were ever brought against the man, Sorrell Shiflett, after his encounter with the police officers. Shiflett accused the officers of excessive force, unlawful seizure, and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, per the lawsuit.
“These officers violated Mr. Shiflett’s rights by first unlawfully arresting and then beating him with a baton and shocking him an unknown number of times with a Taser causing Mr. Shiflett to suffer two brain bleeds and a separated shoulder that required multiple surgeries,” said Adanté Pointer, civil rights attorney for Oakland’s Pointer & Buelna, Lawyers For The People.
“They then callously dumped him at a nearby hospital,” Pointer stated, adding “Despite knowing how seriously he was injured the Police Department inexplicably allowed the most critical items of evidence, including two of the responding officers’ bodycam videos and a Taser log, to be destroyed in an effort to cover up the officers’ misdeeds.”
“They also failed to conduct a subsequent internal affairs investigation as required by their own policy,” Pointer continued.
According to the lawyer’s release, Shiflett suffered a serious brain injury when robbed at gunpoint in 2008, and “It left him with major cognitive difficulties, slowed speech, and a child-like state of mind.”
According to the lawsuit, on Oct. 6, 2019, 37-year-old Shiflett, who was dressed as a character from a popular anime show, Naruto, and his cousin were walking in San Leandro before sunrise until police officer Ismael Navarro, who was responding to a suspicious persons call, arrived and began questioning the men. Fellow SLPD Officer, Anthony Pantoja, soon joined, the lawsuit added.
Pointer reported Shiflett consented to being searched, but “grew frightened and took off running when he was ordered to put his hands behind his back. He ran because he wanted to get help from his father to explain his disability and the trouble he was having in understanding why police wanted to detain him.”
“Navarro and Pantoja gave chase, before Shiflett turned around and walked back to the officers in an attempt to surrender. Without the arresting officers’ body cam videos it is unclear exactly what amount of force the two officers used against Shiflett. They did admit to striking him with their baton and Tasing him, despite neither officer claiming Shiflett tried to punch, kick or strike them,” said the lawyer.
According to the lawsuit, both police officers failed to turn on their body-worn cameras to capture their use of force.
The lawsuit also mentioned that the officers eventually took Shiflett to a hospital, releasing him from custody after learning how severe his injuries were and all charges against him were dropped within a few weeks.
“This was a horrifying experience for Sorrell. He can be heard on Pantoja’s bodycam crying and screaming while pleading with the officers that he is disabled, that the officers hurt him, and that he did not do anything to warrant such a cruel and unlawful beating,” said civil rights attorney Ty Clarke, of Pointer & Buelna.
“Incidents like these are why millions of Americans have lost faith in the police to protect and serve,” added Clarke.
